Pune: Student Alleges College Principal, Staff Beat Him For Raising Voice Against Fees Hike In Pimpri, College Refute Charges

Pimpri, 30th September 2021: A student studying journalism has alleged that he was beaten up by Mahatma Phule College principal and staff for raising his voice against fee hike. On the other hand the college administration, citing CCTV footage, said that he had hit head on glass door and injured himself.

The student sustained serious injuries to his head, arms and legs. The incident happened on Wednesday morning.

Schools and colleges have been closed for the last one and a half years due to coronavirus disease (COVID19), but students are still being charged full fees and forced to pay fees. The exam results are being withheld for not paying fees.

The third-year students of B.Voc Mass Communication Department of the college had demanded a 30% reduction in the fees as the studio and other facilities are not being used. The vice-principal of the college had asked them to make an application.

On Wednesday, some students had taken the application to the college principal but the principal flatly refused to waive the fee. When Shubham Baroth, a third-year student, asked about this, Principal Dr Pandurang Gaikwad started using foul language. He had also taken away the mobile phones of the students. “If you don’t want to pay then leave college, but the fee will not be waived”, the principal reportedly told the students.

After this, Shubham tried to persuade him but he did not listen. Shubham did not have the money to pay the fee as his mother had already mortgaged the jewellery for his fee earlier.

The students said that Shubham was not taken to the hospital and the principal confined the students in a room till police reached there.

Police took all the students to the chowky and seated them but took no action against the college. The students then approached the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) and they immediately took up the matter. Shubham was taken to the hospital and given proper treatment.

ABVP under the leadership of Prathamesh Ratnaparkhi gathered and raised their voice against the college administration and made the principal apologise. The students’ demands will be also agreed upon, the administration said.

ABVP members Rohit Raut, Ashok Saini, Gaurav Valanjkar, Ritwik Deshpande, Shubham Pore, Sambhaji Shendge, Arvind Nagvi and other ABVP activists have demanded appropriate action against the college and the principal.

According to a statement issued by the college, Shubham went to the principal’s room with his classmate Omkar Jadhav at 11 am on Wednesday. Shubham started arguing about fee reduction with the principal who explained that he does not have the right to waive fees. You will have to pay the fee as per the circular of Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, Satara, and the Government of Maharashtra. According to the circular of the Government of Maharashtra, due to the situation caused by Covid 19, the fees for the items which were not used should be waived in the academic year 2021-2022, while I would like to give you that concession for the year 2020-2021. You can pay the remaining fee in installments. But Shubham did not agree with any of this. He went out and came back with his mobile. He talked to the principal again and knocked on the glass door of the cabin, and the glass of the cabin door shattered. A large piece of glass flew and landed on the hand of Suresh Desai, a peon outside the principal’s room. He is seriously injured. He is undergoing treatment. At the same time, the student went out with a fallen piece of glass. College staff detained him to prevent any further wrongdoing. Locked him in a room until police arrived. This has happened and this student has not been beaten by the principal or any teacher, informed college officials.